Loss and Suffering, Gain and Redemption
by russianwinter013
Summary: When the crew of the Interceptor receives a distress signal from the infamous Spider Guild prison, they are hesitant to help. But when they find out that a mindjumper has escaped, one with a deadly disease, they rush to help. The disease is fatal to Razer, and they rush to find a cure as he deteriorates. Will they find one in time, or will it be too late?
1. Chapter 1

"Incoming transmission."

"Put it on video, Aya," Kilowog ordered.

"Commencing upload." After a moment, the video screen came to life.

"_Hello_? _Is_ _this_ _thing_ _on_?" An all too familiar face showed on the screen.

"You!" Razer came to attention, his eyes narrowed. "Why are you contacting us?"

"_Believe_ _me_, _I_ _am_ _not_ _pleased_ _by_ _this_ _arrangement_," the Prison Warden hissed. "_We need your help_."

"Doing what, exactly?" Razer snapped.

"Easy, kid," Jordan stated, his card game vanishing. "What do you need, Warden?"

"_We have an escaped prisoner_."

"Who?" He crossed his arms, recalling the last time they'd dealt with them.

"_A mindjumper, one by the name of Xeroxy Meuroxion_."

"Those little buggers?" Kilowog shuddered. "I'd rather not."

"_You do not understand. Xeroxy is infected with the Black Plague_."

Silence.

"Does anyone mind telling me what the Black Plague is?" Hal demanded. "Does it have anything to do with rats?"

"No." Razer faced him, his ice blue eyes blazing with a frozen light. "The Black Plague is a disease. It causes delusions and hallucinations, as well as an uncontrollable rage and varied moods. It drives its carrier insane, more so than the current psychopaths in this slime bag's excuse for a prison."

"Okay, and he's asking _us_ to deal with it? Won't we be infected?"

Razer shook his head. "No. Many species have a natural immunity to the Plague. There are some, the ones with psychic abilities, whether dormant or active, that have a risk of being infected."

Hal looked around at his crew. "Anyone is here psychic or have psychic abilities?"

They all shook their heads.

"Good, then." He faced the Warden. "We're on our way."

* * *

The hallway was dark and cold, their breath crystallizing before them. All was strangely silent, and the feeling that something was watching them was no longer there.

"The signal's getting stronger," Hal informed them. "We must be getting close to the tracker."

"How did they plant a tracker without being infected?" Kilowog asked.

"Xeroxy must have been controlling someone at the time. Mindjumpers usually are physically inactive when they do so." Razer spoke from the shadows behind them, his voice quiet.

"You all right back there, kid? I know this isn't the best place for you to be right now, but-"

"I am fine." He had moved somehow and was now in front of them. His pale eyes seemed to glow. "I am not receiving the signal. If you would lead the way?"

* * *

They arrived after that. It was even colder here, frost forming on their suits.

"Do mindjumpers like it cold or something? I can't feel my face," Hal complained.

"Moderate temperatures," Razer muttered. He had a hand on the wall, his thin fingers digging into the stone.

Kilowog pulled Hal away from the former Red Lantern. "Do you think there's something wrong with the kid?"

"We _are_ close to the place where he was nearly tortured to death," Hal replied. "I imagine it isn't such a good thing."

"Still, he's..._quieter_." Kilowog glanced at him. "He's-"

"Are you two going to linger for much longer? We do not have all day."

"He's our same old Razer." Hal grinned and put a hand on the Bolovaxian's arm. "Don't worry. He'll be fine-or at least as close to fine as he can be." He moved away, calling, "We're coming."

* * *

"So what's the plan? We've been searching for hours and can't find a thing."

"We'll split up." At their looks of shock, Hal raised his arms. "Hear me out, I have a plan."

"Your plans always end up in us being shot at, blown up, running for our lives, or hiding," Kilowog hissed. "How will this be better?"

"That's what makes it fun." Hal grinned. "But listen. We'll cover more ground that way. Keep your eyes peeled. Anything suspicious, contact the others." He faced them, his grin gone. "Aya, take the lower levels. Kilowog, these ones. Razer, you take the higher ones. I'll take the basement."

As they left, Kilowog stopped Hal. "Jordan, something is wrong here. I can feel it."

He looked at him. "Kilowog, we're in a prison. Something's _always_ wrong."

At Hal's look of confusion at Kilowog's look of annoyance, Razers spoke. "Think about it, you fool," he said, as blunt as always. "We are in a prison, one known for its extensive torture methods. You know there will be screaming."

"So?"

"If there is no screaming, no feeling of being watched, _where is everyone_?"

* * *

Kilowog flew through the dark hall. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, with Razer and with this place. He couldn't hear the scuttling of the Spiders' many legs. He didn't feel _anyone _watching him, and that was a bad thing in a place like this.

As he neared the closest hallway, an overpowering stench hit him. He staggered, landing on his feet. What was that? It was worse than a rotting grub worm feast.

It only increased as he approached one of the larger cells formerly for the Thanagarian warriors. The Bolovaxian's ring beeped incessantly and he slowed. There was something dangerous behind that door, something powerful enough to make his ring's scanners go haywire.

He pushed open the door and stared.

* * *

"_Jordan_."

The human continued flying through the basement, his teeth chattering from the cold. "Yes, Kilowog?"

"_Ger over here. There's something you need to see_."

"Is it-?" He cut off as a horrid aroma hit him. Gasping for breath he swerved, landing on the ground with a thud. Forcing himself to his feet, he gasped and coughed. What was that smell?

"_Jordan_?" Kilowog's voice held worry; he had heard the other's coughing. "_What's wrong_?"

"I'm fine, Kilowog. There's some strange smell; I can hardly breathe."

"_There's something here as well, but I'm not affected as much as you. Put up your shield and meet me here._"


	2. Chapter 2

The Bolovaxian stood staring at something in the open door he was facing. He didn't move as Hal approached. He was still gagging silently at the smell.

"What is it?"

Kilowog pointed at the room. Hal turned to look.

"What the—?"

The room was filled with bodies of all kinds and species. Some were whole and others were mere bits and pieces. Organs, bones, flesh—all thrown around like forgotten trash. A dark substance that may have been blood was splattered on the wall and drenched the floor.

"Either the Warden lied about there being a mindjumper, or it turned them against each other," Hal stated, his voice muffled from the hand he had over his mouth and nose.

"There are all kinds of wounds here. Razer, this is your area of expertise. What—?" Kilowog cut off as he turned. "Where's Razer?"

"Didn't you call him down?"

"I'm sure I did."

"Razer, do you copy?" Hal spoke into his ring. "Razer!"

Nothing but static answered.

"Aya, Razer is down. Do you copy, Razer is down."

"_He is not, in fact, Hal Jordan. I am with him_."

They glanced at each other. Razer was okay, but his ring was offline?

"Aya," Kilowog stated. "If Razer's with you, then why is his ring offline?"

"_There is nothing to concern yourself about. His ring is losing power as a result of the massive waves of irregular energy cloaking the prison. Razer is fine_."

Hal coughed. "Meet us here, then. There's something you need to see."


	3. Chapter 3

Aya entered with Razer trailing behind. He was stoic, as always, and his eyes roamed the room. The hooror covering it did not seem to bother him.

"What happened?"

"What does it look like?" Kilowog demanded. "Xeroxy turned them against each other."

"Do not attempt to jump to conclusions, Kilowog. You are giving me a headache from your attempt to solve things like the useless detective you are," the Volkregian stated, glaring at Kilowog. The Bolovaxian glared back, slightly confused at his teammate's sudden dark irritation.

"Enough," Hal ordered. "Razer, what do you make of this?" He motioned to the wounds on the bodies, his disgust evident as he turned slightly green.

The former Red Lantern approached the pile, leaning down and examining the bodies. His fingers ran over the festering wounds, his eyes narrowing as he took in the charring and flaking around them. He even leaned down to inhale whatever aroma the corpses were giving off, much to the disgust of his teammates. After a moment, he leaned back on crossed legs.

"They used blasters, bombs, and a wide array of weapons in the fight. The scorch marks indicate the use of blasters. The charring on the bodies and walls are a product of the bombs, and any other wounds are a result of whatever weapons they possessed at the time. That, however," he continued, looking up at them with icy eyes, "was not their cause of death."

"Then what was?" Hal questioned.

"They were all down at the same time. There was no 'last man standing'. They all died at the exact same moment."

"How can that happen? All of them couldn't have died at the exact same time. It isn't possible." Kilowog crossed his arms over his massive chest, unconvinced.

"What does a mindjumper's influence do to one, Kilowog?" Razer hissed as he stood in one fluid motion, a motion that was eerie and almost catlike in its grace. "It causes contention between two or more people, or even one, driving them against each other or themselves. It builds up the deeply hidden rage one holds for another, while in the process inflicting wounds that set deep and fester."

"You _would_ know something about rage and despair, wouldn't you?" the Bolovaxian muttered, receiving venomous glares and having the sense to look sheepish.

"Clearly, this mindjumper has more capabilities than Neuroxis. It is able to control more than one mind at a time," Razer stated.

"Which means we have to keep our eyes peeled for anything," Hal added. "Aya, have you scanned for any remaining life-forms?"

The A.I. shook her head. "Initiating scans now." Her eyes glowed for a moment, and the others waited, the atmosphere of the room tense and heavy.

"No life-forms found," she stated eventually.

"If there is no one here alive, how did the Warden contact us?"

"He probably died after contacting us," Razer muttered grimly, his eyes narrowing. Kilowog and Hal glanced at each other, aware of the Volkregian's boiling rage and dark pleasure at the thought of the Spider's death.

"Or he's masking his signal somehow," Hal countered, ignoring the way his teammate glared. "HE can't be dead; we arrived moments after he contacted us."

"So this means we'll have to split up again and look for him?" Kilowog demanded, his red eyes wide.

"We're going to look for him, yes, but we're not going to split up. It's too dangerous."

"Oh, and danger actually concerns you _now_?" Razer muttered, his eyes cold as ice, as he crossed his arms and glared at the human.

"Come on." Hal ignored the former Red Lantern's jibe, turning on his heel and leaving with Aya following.

"Here we go again," Kilowog groaned, facing his teammate. "Razer?"

The former Red Lantern was leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed and a grimace was on his face, exposing his fang-like teeth. Shudders racked his lean body, and his arms were circled around his body.

"Razer, are you okay?" Kilowog approached his teammate hesitantly.

He started as if waking from a nightmare. His eyes locked onto the Bolovaxian, and he scowled. "We should be focusing on finding the Warden, not on inconsequential matters your puny brain would deem otherwise. Get your head in the game, and pay attention." He passed the other, stopping to glare over his shoulder. "If that is possible for you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, here's Chapter Four! I apologize for the long wait; I was kind of stuck on this...**

**Many thanks to Dreams-of-Ash for the idea founding the base of this chapter! :)**

* * *

"Hal, there's no one here," Kilowog insisted. "We've been searching for hours. The Warden is dead or escaped long before we got here."

"I agree," Aya stated coolly. "There is a high probability that the Warden escaped long before we arrived. It is illogical to continue searching."

"Razer?" Hal faced the remaining teammate. "What about you?"

"I do not care if we find the Warden or not; my opinion stays the same," the Volkregian hissed. "He can rot in an escape pod, a prison, or in a mentally unstable state for all I care." He froze up suddenly, but not before a sudden violent tremor ran through his body, a grimace exposing his fangs as his hands clenched into fists. "We should be leaving." Razer pushed past them and vanished down the dark hallway, Aya trailing him.

"What just—?" Hal began to speak, facing Kilowog, but stopped at seeing the look on the Bolovaxian's face that screamed _'I told you so'._ Hal raised his hands. "Okay, okay. No reason to get all snappy. You were right, now we're leaving."

* * *

"Morning, Kilowog." Hal entered the dining area, his hair disheveled and bags beneath his eyes.

The Bolovaxian took in the human's raggedy appearance. "You okay, Jordan?"

"Yeah." He stifled a yawn. "I didn't get much sleep."

"Still thinking about the Warden, huh?"

He sighed. "I can't get him out of my head." He headed over to the stockpiles in the cabinets on the wall. Opening it, his grimaced in disgust, pulling out a mushy red object tinged with gray and green. "Okay, honestly. What part of 'fruit needs to be refrigerated' did you not understand?"

Kilowog came over, narrowing his eyes at the rotten fruit. He took it from the human's outstretched hand, inspecting it and even sniffing it. After a moment, he took a bite, chewing and rolling it in his mouth experimentally. "Hmm. Tastes fine to me." He noticed Hal staring at him. "What? Did you want some?" He held out the apple.

Hal groaned and backed away, shaking his head as he turned slightly green. "No thanks. I think you just spoiled what was left of my appetite." He turned and entered the control room, where Aya was waiting for him.

At that moment, Razer entered. He was silent, and remained so as he took his designated seat at the table centered in the room, taking to the task of glaring at his clenched fists.

"Hey, Razer." Kilowog faced him, a grin on his face. "You should've seen the look on Jordan's face when I ate this." He held out the half-eaten fruit. "Apparently it's supposed to be 'refrigerated', whatever that means, but it's perfectly fine. Want some?"

Razer looked up at the towering alien, his eyes narrow. "I'll pass." His voice was slightly hoarse.

Kilowog looked ready to object, but his teammate's vicious glare made him back down. He didn't want to start off the day by making Razer want to strangle him. The Volkregian exhaled deeply and leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, but he froze suddenly, his hands digging into the hard material beneath them. The same unnerving grimace Kilowog had seen during their time in the prison ship appeared on his face, and the Bolovaxian was only startled more when Razer paled significantly, making him a sickly white.

Kilowog approached with careful steps. "Razer, are you okay?"

The former Red Lantern took in a shaky breath, fangs exposed as sudden harsh tremors racked his lean body.

"Razer?" Kilowog placed a hand on his shoulder, nearly shuddering at the ice-cold temperature.

The Volkregian was on his feet in barely a second, a menacing snarl exposing teeth that suddenly seemed longer than normal. Before Kilowog could comprehend what was happening, Razer had him pinned to the wall with a grip that was immensely strong for someone of his size. His icy eyes blazed with a manic light as his grip tightened to the point where it was becoming hard to breathe.

"Razer, I don't know what you think you're doing," Kilowog choked out, struggling to restrain the instinct that told him to _fight,_ "But I don't want to hurt you!"

Razer snarled and narrowed his eyes, the faintest hue of red beginning to stain them. The hand around Kilowog's throat began to heat as a red aura surrounded the Volkregian's body, enough so that it scorched through the tough fibers of the Green Lantern's protective suit and carved into his leathery skin.

"I've just gotten a message from the council." Hal reappeared. "They spotted the **-**_**what** is going on here?!"_

He froze as he took in the scene, Aya behind him. Razer had Kilowog pinned to the wall, his hand enclosing his throat, as a blazing, churning red haze swirled around him. Kilowog looked to be in immense pain, as it seemed the hand currently choking him was radiating the same raging heat as its owner.

"Razer, what are you _doing?"_ Hal demanded, looking for a way to intervene. Kilowog was too close to Razer for him to get a clear shot of the former Red Lantern, and he did not want to injure the Bolovaxian.

The Volkregian turned, his now black and red eyes blazing with a hellish light as the frightening aura around him flared. A dagger, one that was not a construct, appeared in his hand, aimed at the intruder's own throat.

"Razer." Aya stepped forward, in the enraged Volkregian's line of aim. "Your thoughts appear to be unclear. Speak to us. Tell us what is wrong."

Razer's arm fell ever so slightly as Aya stepped in front of him. A low growl rumbled through him, his eyes darting between his teammates as they gradually returned to their natural colors. In place of rage, the haze on confusion took its hold as Razer glanced around the room.

"Why are you buffoons looking at me like that?"

Hal scowled, heading over to the other. "I thought we had settled the issue between you two."

Razer's eyes narrowed as he took a step away, never one for having his personal space intruded upon. "What are you -?"

The Green Lantern cut him off. "I don't care _what_ it takes! We settled this issue long ago about attempting to kill each other. Fix _whatever_ is going on between you two, or so help me, _**I** _will!" He leaned close, his anger radiating off of him in waves. "Trust me, when I handle things while I'm in a mood like this, it isn't pretty." With that, irritated, sleep-deprived human stormed off. Aya looked back almost pleadingly at Razer, who was still confused, before following.

Kilowog shifted, moving away from Razer. "What was that about?"

Razer faced the other. "What was what about?"

The Bolovaxian's eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'what was what about'? You just tried to _kill_ me!"

"I did not. We were talking, and..." He trailed off, paling rather alarmingly.

Kilowog stepped back a little, wary, in case the Volkregian would go on another murderous rampage. "Razer? We were talking and then what?" He had to keep his mind occupied, keep him focused.

"W-We..." Razer scowled and clenched his hands into fists. His breaths came faster and his eyes flashed red.

"Razer..." Kilowog searched his brain for something to say. "Listen to me. Whatever is wrong, we can fix it."

"Did I say anything was wrong with me?" the Volkregian snapped suddenly, his energy field flaring dangerously bright.

"Well, I'd assume something was wrong, with you trying to kill me!"

"Must you continue to bring that up?" Razer stepped towards the table, but as he did so, his legs gave out. Kilowog steadied him, brow creased in worry. "Razer?

"Get off of me," he hissed, trying to push the bigger alien away. His grip faltered as his body shuddered, and he went into a violent bout of coughing, startling Kilowog. Razer was _never_ sick. He _never_ showed weakness. So what was wrong now?

"Razer, are you sure that's wise?" He moved away as the other shot a venomous glare at him, but he watched as the Volkregian leaned against the table, taking in a shuddering breath as his hands tightened in a vice-like grip around the table's edge, visibly denting it. Kilowog watched warily from a distance, prepared in case anything should happen.

"Will you stop hovering?" Razer brought his attention back to reality. "I am fine."

"Sure you are." Kilowog continued to watch.

The Volkregian rose to his feet, swaying ever so slightly. It was then that the Bolovaxian noticed that the other was still a shade of sickly white. His equilibrium seemed off as well, explaining why he was taking hesitant steps. Kilowog watched warily from a distance.

It was only when Razer collapsed did he panic.

* * *

"We need to get the warp drive set up," Hal was saying to Aya. "It's the only way we can get there on time."

"It would be logical for Razer to assist me in doing so," the green-skinned A.I. stated coolly. "The warp drive's set up time will be dramatically reduced."

"Good." Hal nodded. "So now we can -"

The door hissed open, and Kilowog burst into the room. "Jordan!"

"Kilowog?" Hal turned, the slightest hint of a concerned frown gracing his mouth. "What is it?"

The Bolovaxian hesitated ever so slightly, making the other Green Lantern rise from his chair.

"Kilowog..." The Bolovaxian moved back as Hal approached him. "What happened?"

"It's Razer," Kilowog stated as Aya turned, her apathetic features fixed into the smallest of worried frowns.

"What's wrong with him?" Hal crossed his arms, still irritated with the earlier encounter.

"He's unconscious. He just...passed out."

* * *

**I am certain this is the longest chapter. And I am REALLY sorry for the wait. I think the last time I updated was more than a month ago. **

**And I know this escalated a little quickly, and I apologize for any confusion. Hope you enjoyed!**


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